Exonerate
by WatsonGranger
Summary: Hiccup is a lonely girl who befriended a dragon. In doing so, she has been labeled as a traitor. And So begins Hiccup's journey to self-discovery and forgiveness. Rated T for now. Gender Switch: Hiccup Alastair


**Author's Note: I rewrote Chapter 1 because I have an idea of where to take this story and it needed to be longer. Review & Enjoy **

**Part I: Tribulations**

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III felt a slight vibration rattle the shutters of her window in the early morning. Hiccup isn't necessarily a traditional Viking name as a Viking name was meant to scare off enemies, but it was better than most Viking names that would have been given to her. A flash of bright light finally got her up. Hiccup stumbled around until she found her brown fur vest and placed it over her green tunic that almost reached her knees. She placed her grey trousers on and moved to grab her dagger where she kept it safely inside her vest. Her brown leather boots were quickly shoved on as Hiccup strapped a leather belt around her torso to keep her tunic and vest from flying off.

It has been known that Hiccup was too small for a Viking, especially for her age group, so it was often difficult for Hiccup to get the tailors to match her size, as they were very much used to tailoring clothes for large massed Vikings. She put her long hair back with a leather band and put it in a ponytail, although it didn't stop a couple of strands of hair from falling out.

She quickly ran down the stairs as she put her vest on and opened the door. Just as she did, it caught the attention of the flying Monstrous Nightmare. From the Book of Dragons, Hiccup knew that the great red beast had a tendency to set itself on fire and shoot fire that resembled lava. The beast looked at her in the eye before it spewed out the liquid fire the beast was famous for. Hiccup quickly shut the door and whispered, "Dragons."

She waited until the coast was clear before running out and down the hill to the village. As she ran outside, she saw her village ablaze in battle. Berk was the name of her village. In other words, sturdy. Her village has been standing for over three generations but every house is new compare to other villages who had their homes kept the same for generation. As the Monstrous Nightmare lit ablaze a house, Hiccup thought, "_Same old Berk, new houses._" Hiccup watched as Vikings ran left and right. She watched as her neighbor was carried around in a Gronkle's mouth while he was still hammering away at the dragon's head. She shook her head at the instinctive stubbornness that comes with being a Viking. The more logical choice would have been to leave but of course, as Vikings, that was not an option.

As Hiccup ran through the crowd of fighting Vikings, she could hear many yelling at her:

"What are you doing out here?"

"Get inside!"

"Stay out of the Way!"

Hiccup had to roll her eyes at the statements. If the Vikings couldn't chase away the dragons with their brute force and tenacity, then their oh-so_ charming_ Viking demeanor will.

As Hiccup looked around her shoulder to make sure any dragon wasn't following her, a Nightmare's blast nearly blazed her. She would have been burned alive had it not been for the ruff hand that grabbed the back of her tunic and pulled her out of harm's way. Hiccup looked at the owner of the hand and came face to face with the chief of the village, Stoick the Vast.

"HICCUP! What is she doing out h- WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE? Get inside!" he yelled. He pushed Hiccup into the direction of the blacksmith shop and continued to lead his men into battle. Hiccup looked behind her to see Stoick in his intimidating glory.

The man was large in size and widths and it also helped that he was larger than most of the Vikings on the island. He had on his helmet with dragon horns sticking out from each side and his helmet. He wore shoulder pads that were engraved of a Viking face making a gnarly face and wore a large bearskin cape with it. He wore a dark green tunic and a leather belt that was decorated with spikes. His belt strap was engraved to have a dragon's head growling and attached to the belt was a chain mail decorated to resemble dragon scales. His arms were wound with leather and had spikes pointing out in every direction. His whole face was surrounded by red, shaggy hair that was often braided to allow him the ability to see and speak. His thick beard and thick eyebrows were pulled in a frown as he watched a Nadder carry a sheep away. He carried a cart with no effort in his hands and threw it straight at the Nadder that was carrying away the sheep. The sheep landed safely as a fireball hit behind Stoick. He didn't even flinch as the blast threw debris everywhere while everybody else ducked for safety. Legend had it that as a baby he knocked a dragon's head clean off its shoulder. Did Hiccup believe the tales? Yes she did. Hiccup continued to run towards the blacksmith shop as Stoick commanded his men away towards the catapults.

Hiccup ran inside the shop, when she heard her guardian and mentor comment, "Nice of you to join the party." She turned to see Gobber the Belch hammering away at a bent sword.

Gobber the Belch was just about the same size as Stoick, if not a little shorter. He had a long, braided blonde mustache and though he was bald on the top of his head, he wore his helmet, complete with two long, thin, but _very_ sharp dragon horns, rested on his crown. He wore a light yellow tunic with a dark brown fur vest on top (though the vest seemed to be too small for him to wear as it never reached down his torso), and striped gray trousers. The blacksmith/warrior was missing his left forearm, which had been replaced by a prosthetic interchangeable hand and a peg leg that replaced his right leg.

"Who me?" said Hiccup as she took her fur vest off and replaced it with a blacksmith apron, "No, I am way too fast for those dragons. They wouldn't know how to catch me." To emphasize her point, Hiccup skirted left and right to show her quick reflexes, but managed to knock herself into the hammer that was hanging on the wall and fell on the floor. The momentum of her collision knocked the hammer off the wall and nearly hammered her stomach had she not rolled out of the way. Hiccup grabbed the hammer with both hands and lifted (with great effort) to place it back on the wall. It took most of her energy to place the hammer back in its proper place. She turned to Gobber and grinned sheepishly, hoping that he wouldn't comment.

Gobber raised an eyebrow and commented, "They need toothpicks don't they?" Hiccup rolled her eyes at the statement and opened the shutters in the front of the shop. There was already Vikings there lining up, waiting to have their weapons fixed or sharpened. She took the swords and placed them over the hearth as she pumped more air into the fire to raise the heat. Hiccup had to stand on her tiptoes to even reach the top of the pump in order for her to blow air in. She even had to use most of her body weight to pull it down.

Hiccup was tending to the heated swords when she heard someone yell, "FIRE!" Hiccup raised her head as she heard a group of Vikings run by the shop carrying with them the water barrel. She looked out the window to see her age-grouped peers set the water barrel down and began to fill up the water buckets. Hiccup watched as her peers began to battle the fire. Fishlegs was a large boy whose helmet was too small for his head. He had a small patch of blonde hair on his head and would be described to be a bit chubbier than the average Viking. His size however has made him be accepted amongst his peers. He wore only a single tunic that was thick and brown. His boots matched the color and thickness of his tunic.

Hiccup could see her cousin trail behind Fishlegs. Snotlout made it a personal goal in his life to make her life absolutely miserable. Snotlout resembled his father (her uncle) greatly in personality and characteristics. He was what a Viking her age should look like. He had brawn to match the Viking expectations but when it came to actually thinking and strategizing, he could not live up to the expectations. He wore a tan simple tunic that was tucked in his brown trousers and held together by his leather belt that was engraved with a Viking face. He had leather bindings on his wrists and his helmet had curved dragon horns on each side.

The twins were fighting each other over who got to douse the fire first. Twins in likeness in all but gender. Tuffnut (the boy) had his hair grown long and he often kept it straightened. He wore a simple grey blue tunic over his trousers and had a simple leather belt hold it together. He wore a dark green cloth binding on his arms and wore a grey fur vest along with his brown fur boots. Ruffnut (the girl) kept her long blonde hair in braids and wore a blue tunic over her brown skirt. She, like her brother, wore a simple leather belt to hold it up. She wore blue cloth bindings over her arms and a leather vest over her tunic and wore grey fur boots. Both twins wore a dragon tooth necklace and helmets with two dragon horns on each side.

And last but not least, _Alastair Hofferson_. If Snotlout was what a Viking should _look_ like in her age group, Alastair Hofferson was what a Viking should _be_ currently and in the future. His cool demeanor and take-charge attitude inspired loyalty among Hiccup's peers and was a natural born leader. Hiccup would be lying if she said that she didn't have a crush on Alastair. His shoulder pads were covered in spikes and he wore a red tunic under it. His belt was not the traditional leather but it was made of small skulls from Terrible Terrors. He had simple brown boots and wore brown leather bindings over his arms. He had strapped onto his side his battle-axe that he never leaves without. Hiccup had often wished she could fight alongside him. It would be a dream come true if she could get him to notice her without all the disappointments that came with her.

As the teens passed by the blacksmith shop to take care of another burning house, Hiccup leaned out the window to get a better glimpse of them. She would have managed to see them perform another flawless teamwork procedure until she felt Gobber clamp his hand around the back of her vest and pulled her away from the window, and said, "Oh no ye don't."  
"Oh come on." Hiccup whined, "I need to make my mark!" Gobber rolled his eyes and said, "You made plenty of marks, Hiccup, all in the wrong places."

"I need to get out there," said Hiccup as Gobber pushed her deeper into the shop, away from the window, "Let me just go out and prove myself, please. My life could get infinitely better if I kill dragon."

Gobber shook his head and said, "You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these." He lifted a pair of bolas but they were soon snatched from his hand as a Viking reached in and grabbed the bolas, before he swung it around his head and threw it at a gronkle.

"I know I can't throw them. That's why I built this!" Hiccup yelled as she pointed at a machine behind her. Gobber stomped his way over to her and lightly tapped the machine. On the first tap, the machine sprung to life and flung a helmet at high speed at an unsuspecting Viking. Hiccup slapped her hand over her face; this wasn't supposed to happen; now Gobber wasn't going to allow her to go outside. She was proven right when stomped over to her.

"Now see, this is what I'm talking about. Hiccup, if you want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all… this." He said as he opened his hands to gesture to her.

"You just pointed to all of me." Said Hiccup. "Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you." Said Gobber. Hiccup opened her mouth to make a snarky comment, but quickly decided that it was not going to help her out at all. "Here," said Gobber, "Sword, sharpen, now."

As Hiccup began to sharpen the sword against the rotating whetstone, she began to list off all the dragons she had seen while running to the shop, and the possibilities it would give her should she be able to take one down.

Taking down and killing a dragon was everything in Berk. Not being able to kill a dragon made you an outcast in the village and Hiccup desperately wanted to avoid becoming an outcast. Becoming an outcast meant bringing shame to her family and dishonoring her ancestry.

Deadly Nadders were brightly colored medium-sized dragons that shot an impressive fire that sparkled. If she took down a Nadder, she would get noticed at least. From what Hiccup had seen, they were very fast on their feet, so she needed to be just as fast. Gronkles were short, squat dragons that were covered in stubby spikes and with wings that beat like a bee wing, if she can kill one, then she might be able to gain some respect. A two-headed Hideous Zippleback was a mischievous dragon where one head breathed gas and the other lit it, taking down this dragon would give Hiccup an even bigger status than most Vikings on the island. Then there was the Monstrous Nightmare. They were large dragons, covered in spikes and had long, curved claws on their paws and their wing joints. With their ability to set themselves on fire, Nightmares were usually chased down by the best and bravest of Vikings. Hiccup began to plan ways in how to trap a Nightmare without actually injuring herself.

There was, one dragon however, that managed to instill fear into the hearts of even the bravest of Vikings. It has never been seen, it never steals food, and it never misses a shot. They it a

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

Hiccup looked outside the window as many Vikings ducked down and she heard the high whistle that was associated with the Night Fury whenever it attacks. Hiccup looked out in the distance and could see a burning catapult tower suddenly explode in a purple blast. Hiccup gasped in awe as she saw a black silhouette fly by in the background in top speed. If she could take down a Night Fury, then would change everything forever. It would get her noticed, it would earn her respect amongst the village and her peers, and more importantly, it would give her father someone to be proud of.

"Hiccup! Get over here!" she heard Gobber yell. Hiccup moved away from the window and watched Gobber change his hammer hand for his axe hand.

"Man the fort, they need me out there." He hobbled over to the exit before turning around and said, "Stay, put, there." Hiccup just looked at him as he gave a battle cry and ran out the door into the battle.

Hiccup waited a few seconds before running to her machine and began to wheel it out of the shop. She ignored the cries of the Vikings behind her as she went to a secluded part of the village that hasn't been attacked yet. Hiccup began to quickly set the machine up and carefully placed the bolas in their place. She aimed the machine at the empty catapult tower and waited.

"Please, Odin, Please don't let me screw this up." Prayed Hiccup as she continued to wait. As Hiccup waited, she watched the night sky. It brought back many memories of her childhood before she became Hiccup the Useless. A memory of her parents smiling down at her whenever she built something out of sticks and rocks. Her mother's voice whenever she told her a story before putting her down to sleep. Her father chuckling in mirth whenever Hiccup tried to tell him a story. Now, ever since her mother's death nine years ago, Hiccup's father distanced himself away from her and Hiccup tried very hard to get him to notice her again. She missed her father despite having him with her.

Hiccup was snapped out her memories when she heard the telltale whistle of the Night Fury. Hiccup quickly aimed at the tower and watched it explode in the purple blast before the Night Fury's silhouette flew by it. Hiccup quickly aimed at the shadow and pulled the trigger. The knockback of the machine pushed Hiccup to the ground. She got up quickly when she heard a shriek fill the quiet air. She watched as a dark shadow flew down from the sky and landed in the forest. From where Hiccup could see, it was just off Raven's Point.

Hiccup stood still for a while before the information finally processed through her head. She shot down a Night Fury._ A Night Fury_. Hiccup was about to jump for joy until she heard a growl coming from the ledge underneath her. She quickly backed away before a Monstrous Nightmare slowly raised itself from the ledge. Hiccup, with all her willpower, tried to make herself insignificant, but no such thing happened. The Nightmare caught sight of her and with one swipe of its might talon, crushed her machine to pieces. Hiccup quickly backed away until she tripped over her own feet. So this was the end for her? She took down a Night Fury and now she was going to be burnt alive by a Monstrous Nightmare.

Hiccup and the Nightmare stared at each other in the eye. It seemed to wait for her to make the first move. Hiccup knew that behind her, her chances of making it back to the populated part of the village was slim. She was not going to survive the run back. However, if she tried to lose the Nightmare down by docks, then she might have a chance. Hiccup took a deep breath and made a run for it. The Nightmare roared in anger before giving chase to her. Hiccup ran down the steps to the docks, but had to avoid the spurts of fire the Nightmare threw at her. She managed to make it to the end of the pier where she waited. Hiccup backed closer to the edge of pier as the Nightmare neared her. She was just about to jump into the water until the dragon's eyes turned into slits.

It sniffed the air precariously before it turned away from her. Hiccup watched in confusion until the Monster reached the fishing cove. Hiccup's eyes widened when she realized that the cove was where they kept their emergency fish. Hiccup quickly ran towards the Nightmare and prayed to Odin that she can distract it from the Villages storage of fish. Just as the Nightmare was about to blast its way in, Hiccup did what she considered to be the most stupid plan ever. She _jumped on the Nightmare's_ back. The Nightmare didn't take too kindly to have a pesky human on its back. The dragon immediately began to buck around and Hiccup held on for dear life and began to scream.

The Nightmare bucked in place and flew high up in the sky. Hiccup screamed as the ground grew farther away from her. She grabbed onto the Nightmare's horns and pulled it down. The Nightmare suddenly began to pivot towards the ground. Hiccup screamed again as the Nightmare crash-landed on the ground. She was thrown off its back and Hiccup skipped across the ground until she was a few feet away from where she can see her father defend some of the livestock from the Nadders. She quickly got up when she heard the Nightmare's roar. Hiccup ran towards her father and screamed, "DADDY!"

Stoick the Vast was busy netting up the Nadders when he heard a yell behind him. He turned and felt his heart drop to his stomach when he saw his only daughter running away from the Monstrous Nightmare. He quickly directed his men to guard the sheep and ran towards Hiccup. He took out his trusty hammer and threw it straight at the Nightmare. The final blast the Nightmare was going to use on Hiccup was forcibly pushed to the side when the hammer knocked the Nightmare's head to the side. The Nightmare shook its head to clear the stupor and only had time see a furious Viking beat it with his bare hands.

The Nightmare flew away when it realized it couldn't spurt fire anymore. Stoick watched in satisfaction as the beast flew away but immediately frowned when he remembered why he had to fight a Nightmare. He turned to Hiccup who was giving him a guilty look.

"Hiccup, I told you to stay inside." He said. Hiccup nodded and began to explain her tale but it was cut short when Spitelout (her uncle) came rushing towards Stoick. "STOICK! The stairway leading to the pier burned away, we can't get to the fish and ships." He said. Stoick's eyes widened in horror and raced his way towards the pier. He stopped as the stairway, indeed, burned away into a pile of ashes and burnt wood. The ships thankfully were spared, but everything else…

"HICCUP!" yelled Stoick. Hiccup flinched when she heard her father yell. She walked slowly towards him and was terrified to raise her eyes to meet his. "Hiccup, look what you have done." Hiccup looked and saw the stairway burnt away. She flinched when she heard a piece of debris fall into the sea. "Well?" asked Stoick. "I hit a Night Fury." Said Hiccup. Stoick gave a frustrated growl while Spitelout gave an exasperated sigh, not another tall tale.

"No dad, I mean it this time," said Hiccup, "If we can send a search party-"

"Stop! Just stop," said Stoick, unimpressed with her attempts to change the situation, "Why can't you just follow the simplest of orders?" That question was often asked to Hiccup and she would normally reply with "I'm a Viking", but now, as she watched the stairway leading to the ships burned away, she realizes that she honestly can't give him an answer without appearing weak. Showing any kind of vulnerability was just not Viking-like. Stoick could see that Hiccup had no answer and gave a tired sigh.

"Get her inside, Gobber. I need to clean up her mess." He said. Hiccup didn't flinch visibly, but the pain still lanced through her. Gobber grabbed her arm and led her back to her house. However when Hiccup looked up, to her horror, everybody was there. Hiccup's cheek blazed in embarrassment and humiliation.

"I have never seen anyone mess up this bad!" Snotlout jeered while the twins laughed.

"Shot down a Night Fury? Please," Ruffnut sneered.

"Hahaha, as if you could ever take down a Night Fury, let alone a Terror!" said Tuffnut as he joined in.

Fishlegs smiled a little uncomfortable but didn't really laugh. Alastair was watching the sky and pointedly ignoring her. Hiccup walked with her head down in shame. What point was there if nobody believed her? She should have just allowed the Nightmare to scorch her. The walk back up to her house was silent. It wasn't up until Gobber cleared his throat that Hiccup turned around to face him. He looked a little uncomfortable, but said, "Listen lass, I know your heart is in the right place, but you don't belong out there fighting dragons."

Hiccup flinched at his words and said, "I just want to be one of you guys." Gobber shook his head and said, "Hiccup, you are many things but a dragon killer is not one of them."

"How do you know if you don't let me try?" countered Hiccup, "All I ever want to do is show people that I can do these things. I don't want to be Hiccup the Useless anymore. I hate having to see dad look at me like I'm a disappointment. It's like somebody skimped the meat off his sandwich."

"Hiccup-"

"_Excuse me? Barmaid? I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered a boy with extra muscles and who can hold an axe, with extra guts and glory on the side. This here? This is girl who looks like a fishbone._" Ranted Hiccup in her best Stoick impersonation. Gobber had to hold his chuckle in. That was a good impersonation. "Now, you're thinking about this all wrong. It's not what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand." He tried to explain. Hiccup's eyes misted over and gave a sigh of defeat. "Thank you for summing that up." She said sarcastically. "Look, you have to stop trying to be something you're not." Said Gobber. He hated having to discourage the girl, but enough is enough. The incident at the pier could have gone worse. Berk would have been stranded with no means of fishing and defense. "I knew I was useless." She whispered. She walked into the house, not realizing that Gobber had heard her. He rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand before going back to the village.

Hiccup walked up the stairs to her room and threw herself on the bed. She just wanted to sleep and forget this nightmare. As she drifted off to sleep, a sudden thought ran through her mind. She shot down a _Night Fury_. If she can get to the dragon and take it back to the village, it just might help. Hiccup grabbed her notebook and charcoal and went out the back of the house.

~Interlude~

"IT'S EITHER THEM OR US!" yelled Stoick. After quickly repairing the stairway with the help of the entire village, they managed to fix it before the sun could even rise above them properly. Currently, after eating in the Meade Hall, they were discussing a plan of action after the most recent raid. They nearly lost a good supply of food had it not been for Stoick's quick thinking.

"One more search before the ice sets in." said Stoick as he looked at the map laid out in front of him. "Those ships never make it back." Said Hort. Stoick looked up and said, "We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard. So who's with me?"

Everybody had hesitant looks and refused to meet Stoick in the eye. "Alright," said Stoick in a last ditch effort "those who stay can look after Hiccup." That got the response he wanted. As the meeting finished, everybody got up to begin packing for the journey. Gobber remained seated as Stoick walked up to him. "Well," he said, "I guess I'll go pack me undies."

"No, I need you to stay here and train the new recruits." Said Stoick. Gobber looked at his best friend and could see that he was very stressful. "No worries, Stoick. I'll look after Hiccup while you're gone." Stoick sighed at the mentioning of Hiccup and said, "What am I going to do Gobber? I can't get her to listen and follow orders and there is always this thing where she has to do things that are…. Unnatural."

"Listen Stoick, under any other circumstances I would agree with you, but I have to say that putting Hiccup in a situation where she can't defend herself is incredibly risky. There will come a time when you won't be around to protect her and there might come a time when you might not make it to her on time." Said Gobber. Stoick looked at his oldest and best friend and thought through his words. Of course Gobber's words ring true. Stoick nodded in agreement and said, "She'll be in the dragon training with the others."

~Interlude~

Hiccup spent the entire day searching for the downed dragon. She hopped over a fallen tree hoping that she would find her dragon, but no. Just empty space. She gave a groan in frustration and marked the spot in her notebook with an X.

"Fantastic job Hiccup, most Vikings would lose a mug or sword. No, you managed to lose an _entire dragon_!" she scolded herself. The gods must hate her if she can't find a whole dragon. She walked a couple of more miles when she spotted a clearing up ahead. She closed her eyes and slowly walked to the clearing.

_Oh please, Odin. Let it be there. Let it be there_, she prayed in her mind.

As soon as she knew she broke through the tree line, Hiccup opened her eyes in anticipation. Nothing. Absolutely nothing was there. She sighed in annoyance and opened her notebook where it was riddled with X's. She drew one more X before finally scribbling all over the notebook. She closed the book and tucked it in back into her vest pocket with her dagger.

She trudged along the forest muttering to herself over how could she lose a dragon? She swatted a tree branch, but she didn't expect it to be springy so it whipped back to hit her face. "OW." She yelped. She glanced at the branch but discovered it to be a part of a broken pine tree. A large, broken pin tree whose roots were pulled up forcefully. She looked down at the ground to see the ground gouged through. Hiccup's eyes widened.

While often getting into the occasional scrapes with Monstrous Nightmares or Nadders, this is a Night Fury, and the size of the trail showed that the dragon wasn't as big as many were led to believe. She followed the trail up the path, heart pounding in her ears, and immediately caught sight of a bound dragon. She quickly ducked behind a boulder and took deep breaths to calm her nerves. She slowly crept up the boulder to get a peek and found that it was slender. The hide was a midnight black. The dragon claws caught her attention next. They were short compared to the other dragons' claws, but she can tell (even from a distance) that the claws were sharp. Its wings were strapped down, but she can tell from the folding that they are large and powerful. She studied the bolas and realized that they were hers.

"I did!" she said in astonishment, "I did it! I have taken down this mighty beast!" Just as she placed her foot on top of it in an act of victory, the dragon moved. Hiccup yelped and ducked back behind the boulder. She glanced around again only to see green eyes staring at her. The pupil was a black slit as it stared at her as if accusing her. As if it was sentient.

_Lies, all lies. Dragons are mindless killing machines, dragons are mindless killing machines, and they do not feel, _thought Hiccup. She needed to pluck up all her courage. She needed to forget she ever saw those eyes accusing her. Glaring at her.

She walked around the boulder and took out her dagger. She walked towards the dragon slowly and said, "I'm going to kill you dragon. I'm going to cut out your heart and give it to my father."

She looked at the dragon and looked at its eyes again. It was _afraid_. Hiccup could feel her heart racing again and began to chant, "I'm a Viking. I'M A VIKING!" Although it was now at that point when after the twentieth time she chanted it, she realized she was only trying to convince herself. She raised the dagger above her head and prepared to make the plunge. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm her nerves. She opened her eyes and looked at the dragon's fearful gaze before it morphed into resignation. It closed its eye and laid its head back down.

It accepted defeat. Hiccup recalled her earlier feelings. Her acceptance of never being accepted in her own village. She accepted that she would never be welcomed. This dragon accepted defeat. Hiccup caused this dragon to accept death. The same way her own people have managed to make her accept defeat so easily.

"I did this." She whispered. She glanced back to her village before she glancing back down at the dragon. She couldn't leave it there tied up. It would die slowly: starvation or any of the wild boars might come by. Hiccup looked at the dragon and down at her blade. If nobody in this world would treat right, that doesn't mean she needs to treat others the same. But in doing so meant that she will forever live under the constant harassment that came with being a Hiccup.

~Interlude~

The Dragon opened his eyes wide open when, instead of the dagger plunging into his body, he felt the restrains fall off his body. He glanced towards the weak girl who seemed to be shaking while cutting the ropes. A closer inspection and he could see that her eyes were leaking. Odd. As she snapped the final rope, she did the most intriguing thing. She got up marched over to the dense woods and threw the dagger with all her might. The dragon watched as the blade disappeared into the woods. The girl walked over to the boulder and covered her face with her strange paws.

~Interlude~

Hiccup began to sob into her hands. Who knew that it would come to this? A Viking allowing her sworn enemy, the dragon, free. She would be cast out of the village as a traitor. Her own father would disown her. She would either be used as target practice or be put on a boat with her hands tied behind her back. Hiccup couldn't allow anybody to discover what happened. Just as Hiccup was about to get up and walk back to her village, the Night Fury suddenly pinned her down. Hiccup gasped as the claws held her in place. She was right about them being sharp. She looked up and gazed into the eyes of the Night Fury. It seemed to analyze her. For Hiccup, this was something new. No dragon has ever spared a Viking's life as far as she could tell. The dragon spread its wings out and opened its mouth. This is it. This is the end of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Died in the hands of the dragon she spared. She closed her eyes and waited. She never expected the sound of its roar deafening her ears. It seemed to go on forever until it finally stopped. The dragon unfurled its wings and took off. Hiccup continued to gasp and got up on two wobbly legs. She walked in the direction of the village before collapsing and passing out.

Hiccup woke up a few hours later just as the sun was about to set. She got up quickly and began the trek back to Berk. She rubbed her arms to add warmth to her cold body. Despite the furs and leather that covered her, Hiccup still tended to get cold more easily than her peers. She sighed as she pointed out to herself another trait that had to make her different. She wondered if her father was still tending to the village or if he was back home. She hoped he was still outside; she did not want to explain why she was out so late.

As she walked, a few thoughts were running through her head: _I'm still alive. The dragon didn't kill me._

Hiccup felt her heart pounding in her ears as she replayed the last few moments before she passed out (another trait that made her different, what Viking would faint after escaping death?). She came very close to death, but she still managed to live. Obviously she can't tell anybody. If anybody caught on that Hiccup had allowed a downed dragon free, then her already miserable life was going to get worse.

"Oh Odin, please guide me." Prayed Hiccup. She seemed to be doing that a lot. She was weak if she couldn't kill that dragon. But to be a bit more realistic, Hiccup realized that she probably would have needed to be lucky more times, it was just by pure luck that she had managed to shoot down the Night Fury. If she were try to do that again, she might not be so lucky. Perhaps it was for the best that no one believed her. Still, the chance to be considered worthy to be her father's daughter was something that she could not believe she willingly allowed to pass. She can't kill dragons. There was no way. Her father was right, Gobber was right, everybody was right. She was no Viking. She needed to tell her dad that she would no longer try before it was too late.

Hiccup sighed and continued her walk back to her house. Hiccup reached her home and stood by for a few minutes just to take it in. She didn't want to go home yet, but if she didn't, then her father would probably send a search party. She looked at her home for a minute and thought of the irony that is was built to resemble a dragon. Perhaps the Viking logic was that if you made your house resemble a dragon, then the dragons wouldn't attack your home. Of course, the dragons spew fire anyways but the tradition was kept.

As she opened the backdoor, she saw her father sitting by the hearth. She froze and wondered if he noticed. He didn't seem to react when the backdoor squeaked open. Taking it as an opportunity, Hiccup swiftly moved up the stairs before she heard her father call out, "Hiccup. We need to talk."

Hiccup sighed and said, "Yeah, I need to talk to you too." Hiccup climbed down the stairs but stayed up a few levels so she can see her dad eye-to-eye. She was dwarfed by her father's size and it often irked her that all of her peers were bigger than her too. Ruffnut, who was the only other girl her age, was taller than her by a couple of inches.

"I decided I don't want to fight dragons anymore."

"I've entered you in Dragon Training."

"What?" they said at the same time.

"What'd you say?" asked Stoick.

"Uhh, you go first." Hiccup said. Please let her hearing be wrong.

"You get your wish, tomorrow morning, you begin Dragon Training." Said Stoick. Hiccup felt her heart drop to her feet. "Oh I should have gone first. Uh, see, I realized that we have a surplus of Dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough fishing Vikings? Or home-repair Vikings? Or-" she was cut off when her father reached behind her and took an axe off its pedestal and dropped it into her arms. "You'll be needing this." He said.

"I don't want to fight dragons." Said Hiccup in a small voice. Stoick had to laugh at this, "Of course you do!"

"Dad, trust me, I can't fight dragons."

"But you will."

"Dad! I need you to list-"

"Listen, Hiccup. When you carry this axe, you carry all of us. I want you to act like us, walk like us, and think like us. No more… _this_." He said, waving his hands over her.

"You just gestured to all of me." Hiccup said deadpanned.

"Deal?"

"This conversation seems very one-sided." Said Hiccup.

"_Deal_?" said Stoick more forcefully.

"Deal." Hiccup sighed when she realized that once again, her father did not listen to a single word she said.

"Now, I'm off for one last search for the nest. _Listen_ to Gobber, Hiccup. I'll be back… probably."

"And I'll be here," she said as she watched her father leave. As the door closed she said, "Maybe."

Oh how this went wrong so fast. She thought for sure her father would have been relieved that she decided not to seek out and fight dragons. Now he pulls this? Hiccup sighed and dropped the axe. Despite its medium size, the axe was actually large and heavy for her. She dragged it by the hearth and set it against the wall.

She looked at it in great discontent. There was no way things would be better for her at the Dragon Arena.

She was proven right when the next morning, she woke up and realized that she was going to be late for Dragon Training. She quickly dressed and ran down the stairs. She grabbed the axe that was still leaning against the hearth and dashed outside. She ran past the newly repaired houses and dashed towards the Training Arena. She bumped along the posts that led to the Training Arena and struggled to keep the axe from falling off her arms. It was very difficult for her to run while carrying it.

As she neared the Arena, Hiccup could see all the teens waiting outside the Arena, waiting for it to open. She slowed her running down, dreading having to be interacting with them. They made life miserable for her, they ridiculed her, and they were even favored by her father. It is no surprise to Hiccup that Snotlout was the more likely candidate to be the future chief. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had Stoick's approval to participate in the raids only for their violent tendencies. Fishlegs, kind and gentle Fishlegs, was more accepted than her for his knowledge of dragons. Alastair was the star champion of the village, everywhere he went praise was given to him. Her own father trained him and bonded with him better than she could even try to accomplish.

Hiccup neared the group and could hear them talking about receiving scars.

"I hope to get some serious burns."

"I'm thinking a mauling on the shoulder."

"Yeah, it's only fun when you get a scar out of it."

"No kidding right? Pain, love it." Said Hiccup automatically. Why didn't she keep her mouth shut? They all looked at her in disbelief as if wondering why in Thor's name was she here.

"Oh great, who let you in?" asked Tuffnut. Hiccup shrank for the stares she was receiving until Gobber yelled, "Let's get started!" He opened the Arena and everybody walked in and marveled. For their whole lives, they have always been spectators outside of the Arena, but now that they were actually inside, it all became to real.

Hiccup lagged behind of the group, cursing her father for putting her in. She had finally decided to listen to what everybody has been trying to say and here he goes not listening… again. At least hopefully, she might be able to flunk out. It's a rule in the Arena that a student not doing well would be put to use in other areas to help the village. Hiccup already had her blacksmithing background, why couldn't she have been left alone when she finally decided to listen?

Hiccup watched Gobber stomp to her direction and shook her head. Nothing he would say could make this better. Gobber gave a sigh and stomp to the front of the group. Hiccup followed him and stood next to Fishlegs.

"Behind these doors are a few of the many species of dragons you will learn to fight." He stomped to one of the closed cages and said, "The Deadly Nadder…"

"Speed eight, armor 16." Informed Fishlegs.

"… The Hideous Zippleback…"

"Stealth eleven times two"

"… The Terrible Terror…"

"…Attack eight, venom 12…"

"… The Monstrous Nightmare…"

"Firepower fifteen"

"Would you stop that?" yelled Gobber, finally frustrated at Fishleg's prattle, "… The Gronkle…"

Fishlegs couldn't resist whispering to Hiccup, "Jaw strength eight."

Just as Fishlegs was whispering the final fact, Gobber had moved his arm to begin pulling the lever.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. Aren't you going to teach us first?" panicked Snotlout. At this Hiccup had to roll her eyes, he was all talk but no walk. Gobber had a cool expression on his face when he answered, "I believe on 'learning on the job'." At that, he pulled the lever that released the Gronkle. All the teens scattered as they tried to avoid the Gronkle's path.

"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead." Said Gobber as he watched the teens run around the arena. The Gronkle smashed against the wall and ate some debris, while Gobber used its distraction to yell out, "Quick, what's the first thing you are going to need?"

"A Doctor?"

"Plus five speed?"

"A shield." Replied Alastair. "SHIELD! GO!" yelled Gobber. All the teens ran to the pile of shields on the side of the arena while Gobber continued to instruct, "The most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you have to pick between a sword and a shield, take the shield."

As the other teens grabbed their shields, Hiccup struggled to get it even across her torso. Gobber saw this and quickly stomped his way over to her where he lifted the shield and shoved it against her body. He twirled her around and pushed her into the battle.

Hiccup stumbled over her feet, but managed to balance herself out. She looked around to see Fishlegs, Alastair, and Snotlout distracting the dragon while Tuffnut and Ruffnut fought each other over the skulls shield. She watched as the Gronkle suddenly paid attention to the twins and opened its mouth to unleash a fireball. Hiccup had horrible images of burning bodies in her head and dropped her axe. She ran to the twins and immediately brought up her shield. She braced for impact and when it came, she felt herself get thrown in the air. She felt as if Odin had slowed time down. Up in the air, she could see everything. The teens and Gobber looking at her in surprise, Gothi (the village's healer and shaman) was up in the stands with an expression of horror, and the Gronkle that was making its way towards her.

When she landed, it was with a sickening thud. She groaned when she landed on her left side, but quickly got up as soon as the beating of the dragon's wings made towards her. Hiccup raised her shield arm, the Gronkle easily bit through it. Hiccup was thrown back by the force, and looked up. The time it took to look in the Gronkle's eyes and her thoughts spanned for just a second, but to Hiccup it felt like forever. The Gronkle's eyes held her gaze and Hiccup could see for the first time in another dragon, _fear_. The Gronkle was afraid. This revelation was mind-blowing, however so was the fact that the Gronkle opened its mouth for another blast while the others finally snapped out of their stupor and ran to her aid. She could see the fire building up in the Gronkle's mouth and immediately curled up for impact.

Just as the blast was about to be thrown, Gobber immediately used his Hook Hand to redirect the blast. Hiccup felt the blast hit above her head and debris scattered everywhere. She heard Gobber say, "That's six. Go back to bed you overgrown sausage!" He threw the Gronkle back in its cage and pulled the lever to lower the bar.

"Remember, a dragon _always_ goes for the kill." He instructed one final time. As the teens left, he followed Hiccup to the forge where he asked, "Are you alright lass?" Hiccup could only nod, still shaken up by what almost happened.

"Hiccup, I want you to remember that in that ring, a dragon would never spare your life; and another thing, it was nice of you to think of the twins, but next time, think for yourself." He advised. Hiccup watched him walk away and replayed what he said over and over.

Hiccup could feel her heart racing. It was pounding against her ears. She scarcely heard him telling her that they were going to meet at the Meade Hall for evaluation. As Hiccup sat down, she recalled how the Night Fury had spared her life. If a dragon always went for the kill, then why didn't the Fury just incinerate her?

As the questions played in her head, she never heard the feet that entered the forge, nor the snicker that followed. She did however snapped out of her musings when hands spun her around and grabbed her by the front of her shirt and lifted her off the ground. "What are you playing at, runt?" asked Snotlout. Hiccup gasped as she looked behind her cousin to see the twins, Fishlegs, and Alastair looking at them. Snotlout shook her and said, "Well?"

"I-I t-thought w-w-we were supposed to help e-each other out." Stuttered Hiccup.

"No,_ We,_" he said pointing at everyone in the room except her, "Work together, _you_ are just in the way. We never asked for your help."

The Tuffnut and Ruffnut agreed with Snotlout, but Fishlegs refused to meet her in the eye and Alastair looked bored. Hiccup wished, for once, she had someone stand up for her. "O-ok." Whispered Hiccup. "If you know what's good for you, you'd stay out of the way. The chief prefers us to you, so that makes us superior than you; it doesn't matter if you're the chief's daughter. Stay out of our way." Snarled Snotlout. He unceremoniously dropped Hiccup to the floor and walked out, followed by the twins and Fishlegs. Alastair just stared at Hiccup and said, "You don't belong in there, so just stay out of the way."

Hiccup could feel the sting behind her eyes when he walked away. They were right, what was the point in trying anymore? Hiccup stood up and walked over to her backroom. She sat down and looked up at all the drawings she has ever drawn. Blueprints to inventions that were always looked down upon. Her eyes filled with tears at all the work that went unappreciated, even Gobber (who always admired her craftsmanship) would struggle to comprehend her work. Hiccup slowly took each of the drawings down and piled it all together. She walked over to the forge's hearth and threw all of them in. Nobody ever appreciated her for just being her. She will not give herself up to become one of them, but she will now stay out of the way like they wanted her to. There was no point in ever participating in their lives now.

~Interlude~

Alastair stood a good distance away from the forge where he could see Hiccup in the forge. Curiosity ran through his mind as he watched her take out papers and began throwing it in the fire, _What did she write down_? He watched silent tears run down her face and he felt a twinge of regret. He didn't think his words would affect her so much. He thought about walking over to her and offer an apology, but the words from Chief Stoick ran through his head "_Don't apologize for something that you know is right._" Alastair watched as Hiccup picked up her notebook and walked into the forest and decided against apologizing. He was right that Hiccup did not belong in the Arena, so with that in mind, he walked away, content with his decision.

~Interlude~

Hiccup walked towards the last location where she found the Night Fury. She didn't know why on earth a dragon would still be in the same island it was shot down on, but her curiosity to the question drove her on. Was the dragon actually feeling mercy when he spared Hiccup's life? Hiccup couldn't tell if what happened actually happened. She walked for a few miles until she reached her destination. The bolas was still there, cut apart and lying there. Hiccup knelt down and picked them up. Her handiwork was actually better than Gobber's but only because she wasn't afraid to experiment. She knew that if Gobber was open to other possibilities, he would make wonders.

Hiccup walked along a trail before moving off course. She allowed her mind to wonder. Her thoughts went to her mother, who was killed by a dragon when she was just a baby, not even a full six months. Hiccup wondered how her life might have been if her mother was alive. Would she have siblings? Was Hiccup more like her mother? Gobber once told her that her father refused to remarry because he thinks it would dishonor her mother. From what the villagers had told her, before she became a screw up, she looked a lot like her mother.

Hiccup looked around her surroundings and noticed a part of the forest that she has never been to. A large canyon wall jutted out from the ground where moss hung from the rocks. If she strained her ears, she could hear the faint sounds of a waterfall and a running river. Hiccup looked around and found a crack in the wall large enough to squeeze through. She walked in and discovered a beautiful cove.

It was large and had long grass growing on the ground and trees sprouting from the canyon wall. Hiccup could see the waterfall and the river ran from where the waterfall ended to underneath the canyon wall. Hiccup briefly wondered where the river might lead when she spotted a black scale on the ground before her. She bent down and winced slightly when her left leg throbbed. She was still a bit sore from the training.

Just as she reached for the scale, a shadow zoomed right in front of her, startling her that instead of running out, she ran for a jutted rock and hid behind it. She peeked out and saw the Night Fury, seemingly failing at flying. Hiccup quickly took her notebook out and took her charcoal inside the notebook in her hand. She quickly sketched the dragon while it was still on the ground and watched it as it tried to fly out of the cove.

"Why don't you just fly away?" mused Hiccup out loud. She watched as the dragon clawed its way to try and get out, but it fell back. As the dragon turned around, Hiccup could see what was missing. She quickly wiped away the left side of the Fury's tail wing. Just one fin was able to throw off the dragon's flying ability? She looked around but didn't find the Night Fury anywhere. Did he leave?

Heavy breathing behind her back alerted her that someone (_or something_) was watching her. Hiccup slowly turned around and found herself face to face with the Night Fury. Everything around her was insignificant when she was staring in the eyes of the great beast. Its pupils were rounded, so Hiccup knew that it wasn't going to attack her. It stared at her curiously. Hiccup remained still, not wanting to antagonize the Night Fury.

~Interlude~

It was the same girl from the other day. He didn't understand this girl. Not at all. She captures him, frees him, and instead of staying away, she comes back. What was it with this girl? He sniffed her and smelled nothing different from the other Vikings, perhaps a bit cleaner. He heard her intake a sharp gasp and was amused. This girl had already encountered him but was still intimidated being near him. He backed up slowly so as not to scare her and sat down on his haunches. He recalled seeing the girl the night of the raid. She was small, smaller than any of the other Vikings in the settlement, and wasn't strong. Yet she managed to bring him down.

Granted, he prided himself in never having been caught by any of the humans, but this girl actually managed it. He should be angry with her of course but his fascination overruled his anger. He looked at the girl for a while longer, and then walked to the other side of the cove, where he went to sleep.

~Interlude~

Hiccup was terrified when the Fury began to sniff her. She stood still and waited. Did the Night Fury have second thoughts and decided to burn her. She was amazed when she saw amusement dance across his eyes. When he walked away and laid down, Hiccup stood on shaky legs and walked away out the canyon wall. She walked in numbness. That was twice she encountered the Night Fury and twice it didn't attack her. Gobber was wrong. Everything was wrong.

Hiccup contemplated and never realized that it began to rain until it started to pound away. Lightning struck the sky and Hiccup quickly began to run back to the village. Thor was out tonight and every Viking knew that it wasn't wise to cross paths with god of thunder. She ran until she felt her sides were about to split open and almost cried in relief when she saw the village in the distance. Hiccup took a step and groaned when she felt her left again, again, throb in protest. First thing tomorrow, she was going to visit Gothi for her leg.

Hiccup nearly moved towards her house until she remembered Gobber's instruction to meet in the Meade Hall. Hiccup trekked her way to the Meade Hall and walked in, exhausted after today's 'adventure'. She opened the door to see everybody all ready sitting down. She quickly averted her eyes and walked to get her dinner. She moved towards the group where she was overhearing Gobber scold the twins over their distractions and thought against it. After today's confrontation and her resolution, Hiccup decided it was better to be alone. Her leg began to throb again and she quickly moved to the table next to the group, not wanting to miss out anything Gobber might say. The group saw her approach and immediately moved to make it seem like the table was full. Hiccup almost rolled her eyes but abstained from doing so.

"Where did Alastair go wrong today?" asked Gobber. "I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble." Said Alastair.

"Yeah, we noticed." Said Tuffnut.

"No, you were awesome. That was so Alastair." Said Snotlout. Hiccup discreetly rolled her eyes while she drank her mead. Snotlout had always idolized Alastair and would often embarrass himself.

"No Snotlout. Alastair is right. You have to be hard on yourself." Said Gobber. He spotted Hiccup and while he didn't want to, he had to treat everybody equally. "Where did Hiccup go wrong?"

"She showed up?"

"She didn't get eaten?"

"She's never where she's supposed to be." Said Alastair. Hiccup could feel his cold gaze on her and refused to react.

"Correct." Said Gobber, while he slapped the twins upside the head, "Tonight's assignment, you'll be reading the Book of Dragons. This book has every species we ever came across. Learn it, live it, breathe it." Gobber slammed the book on the table and left the hall.

"Wait, read?" whined Tuffnut.

"While we're still alive?" complained Ruffnut.

"Why read words when you can kill the stuff the words tells you to kill?" said Snotlout.

"No, no I read the book like seven times. Like there's this one dragon that can spurt boiling water in your face and there's this other one that—" said Fishlegs before Tuffnut interrupted him, "-Sounds great. There was going to be a time where I would read it."

"But now?" said Ruffnut.

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." Said Snotlout as he stood up and walked out, followed by the twins and Fishlegs. Hiccup looked over at the table to see Alastair still sitting and drinking his mead. She decided to wait till he leaves so she can read the book in peace. She never noticed his stares in her direction.

~Interlude~

Alastair looked at Hiccup and pondered. This girl is the most reactive of the teens and yet she never reacted to the twin's barbs or his answer to Gobber's question. He, again, wondered if he should apologize but once again recalled Chief Stoick's words of never apologizing when you are right. Alastair shrugged to himself and left the hall. He needed to rest up before the next training session in two days.

~Interlude~

Hiccup watched as Alastair left and got up to look at the book. Perhaps it would give her insight on the Night Fury. She opened the book and began to read. Some of the pages had dragons she already could identify such as the Gronkle or the Zippleback. As she kept reading though, the names of the dragons and their unique abilities began to scare her. The Thunderdrum, the Scauldron, the Skrill, the Boneknapper, the Changwing, the Timberjack, and the Whispering Death. Every description ended with 'Kill on Sight'. Hiccup wondered if perhaps attacking first always made things more difficult than they needed to be. Finally, she found the dragon she was looking for.

"Night Fury." Whispered Hiccup. The page was blank with only a few words written. "This unholy offspring of lightning and death itself should never be engaged. Hide and pray it does not find you." Hiccup was confused. How would they know about something they have never seen before? She opened up her notebook and placed it inside the book. She needed to know more before she decided to confront the beast again, but how can she without any information backing her up?

Hiccup walked back home and changed out of her wet clothes and into warmer clothes. She laid down in her furs and listened to the rain hitting against the shutters. She relaxed a bit and decided to question Gobber tomorrow about the Book of Dragons.

Unfortunately, the next morning, Gobber was not in the village when she looked for him. She asked around the village and Mulch and Bucket informed her that Gobber took a small expedition to one of the nearby islands to hunt for boars. Hiccup sighed and decided to wait until training. In the meantime, she walked to the forge where she saw people waiting outside.

"What's going on?" she asked Mrs. Thorston, the twins' mother.

"Ay lass, we were here all morning and Gobber still hasn't shown up." Said Mrs. Thorston. Hiccup informed the group that Gobber had left for the day and they groaned.

"Hiccup, do you mind sharpening my knife? If Gobber isn't here then would you at least do it?" asked Finn the butcher. Hiccup sighed and looked at the crowd, deciding that it would at least keep her busy throughout the day. Hiccup walked into the forge and placed her ironing apron on. She began first with Finn's knife and soon everybody was waiting to have the weapons or shields fixed. The workload kept her busy throughout the entire afternoon and by the time the sunset, Hiccup was sweating from heat and exhaustion. Some of the weapons took all her effort to even lift but she finally managed to sharpen them. Many of the villagers were pleased with her handiwork and complimented her, which was almost satisfying if they didn't follow it up with, "for a hiccup."

Hiccup walked up to the Meade Hall and grabbed a plate of cooked fish. She sat down alone in the corner of the hall and ate in silence, ignoring the noise around her. She wondered if the Night Fury was hungry. Perhaps she could use one of the baskets in the fish storage to feed him. Hiccup finished eating the fish and walked to the front to get a chicken piece. She waited behind Mulch before she felt someone get pushed behind her back. Hiccup turned to see Gustav on the floor. She looked up to see Snotlout laughing and walking away. Hiccup offered her hand to Gustav and he graciously took it. When she got her chicken piece she walked back to her corner, never noticing Gustav following behind her with his own plate of food. When she sat down, Gustav sat across from her.

"Gustav?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you sitting here?"

"Cause… you know… there's nowhere else to sit." Said Gustav. Hiccup raised an eyebrow and looked around. There were several empty tables he could have sat in, but decided to drop the subject. They ate in silence until Gustav said, "Hey Hiccup?" She looked up in response, mouth full of chicken to reply.

"Do you mind if maybe you could make me an axe?" Ah, so this was why he sat down with her. Hiccup looked at him and said, "I could get in trouble with your mom." At this Gustav smiled and said, "Oh she won't mind. I asked and she said that if you make a small one for me then that's fine."

Hiccup sighed and said, "Aren't you a little young?"

"I'm nine and a half. Besides Alastair said he could teach me some fighting tricks he learned from the chief." Said Gustav, never realizing how big an impact his words had on her. Hiccup could feel her heart clench when she was reminded how her father preferred Alastair and the others over her. There was no way she could ever live up to his expectations. Hiccup sighed and got up, leaving her food behind and Gustav yelling after her if she was all right. Hiccup walked into her house and for the first time in a long time, she cried. Cried for never living up to her father's expectations, for never being accepted amongst her peers, for never receiving any respect. Hiccup, for once, wished she had her mother with her.

The next morning, Hiccup felt slightly better as she got up early for Dragon Training. She looked at her axe and decided against bringing it to the ring. She went to the forge and began to smelt the metal into a smaller scale and replaced the handle with a small, but sturdy handle. She went to Gustav's house and prepped the weapon next to the door with a small message next it: _For Gustav_.

Hiccup walked to the ring to see a maze set up. "Hiccup! Nice to get here early lass." Said Gobber from behind her. "Gobber? What's the maze for?" asked Hiccup. "That will be explained until the rest of the class shows up." He said. Hiccup waited for the rest of the teens and decided to ask Gobber her questions from two nights ago.

"Hey Gobber? Who wrote the Book of Dragons?" asked Hiccup. Gobber seemed to light up at the question and said, "Why it was my great-great-great grandfather, Bork the Bold. He wrote most of the book."

"_Most_ of the book? What about the rest?" asked Hiccup, her curiosity piqued. "Most of the dragon classes Bork encountered were few at the time. Since generations passed after Bork, new dragons have been appearing. My ancestors have continued to fill in the book." Explained Gobber. Hiccup wondered when the Night Fury showed up exactly. "So when was the Night Fury added? It's the only dragon in the book that doesn't have any information." Asked Hiccup.

"The Night Fury showed up when your grandfather was chief. The first night it appeared, I hear, had Vikings fleeing from battle and hiding in their homes. Your grandfather was the only one who stood his ground and witnessed the beast destroy the catapults and towers."

Hiccup's eyes widened at the revelation. So nobody knew a Night Fury even existed until her grandfather's time. Hiccup nodded just as the group arrived and Gobber began to instruct, "Everybody, grab your shields and wait for my mark."

Everybody grabbed a shield and walked to the entrance of the maze. "For today's lesson, its all about Attack!" said Gobber just as he pulled the lever. A Deadly Nadder burst out of its confines and made a beeline towards the group. Everybody scattered and entered the maze. Hiccup immediately got separated from the group and went a different direction. She could hear Gobber instruct from the top of the arena, "Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter. Make it to the end of the maze and your training is over." Hiccup ran around corners and began to map out the maze. She suddenly heard the Nadder's feet behind her and quickly turned around and lifted her shield just as the Nadder's poisonous spikes were about to impale her. The shield managed to hold against the spikes and Hiccup ran the direction she was sure the exit was at. As she ran in one direction she passed by Ruffnut and Tuffnut. She almost turned around to warn them about the Nadder, but memories of the confrontation made her forget the idea all together.

As Hiccup continued to memorize the maze, she once again faced the Nadder. She lifted her shield but realized that nothing was coming at her. She looked up and saw the Nadder staring curiously at her. Hiccup wondered what it was, until Snotlout's hammer nearly hit the Nadder. It missed the Nadder by about five feet and the Nadder turned in the direction it came from and began to roar with its tail spikes prepped open. A sudden thought passed through Hiccup's mind, _they only attack when we do it first_. Hiccup realized that the Nadder was confused when it didn't see her with a hammer, axe, or sword in hand.

Hiccup continued to run and managed to escape outside the maze. "Good work Hiccup, you managed to escape the maze first." Hiccup smiled at his praise and sat against the wall. She could hear the others screaming and running around in the maze. Hiccup could see Gobber getting frustrated up where he was, rubbing his temples. Hiccup continued to relax against the wall until she began to hear the maze saw the maze topple over. She got up quickly but immediately doubled over in pain when her left leg cramped up. Hiccup scolded herself for not visiting Gothi earlier.

She could hear the others run away from the falling walls and limped her way to avoid any collisions with the walls. Despite avoiding the walls, Hiccup had no luck in avoiding colliding with Alastair who (Odin knows why) leaped over the walls. His axe smashed into her shield and they both landed in a compromising position. Alastair and Hiccup were both dazed until they heard Tuffnut jeer, "Oh, love on the battlefield."

"He could do better." Said Ruffnut behind her brother.

Alastair and Hiccup snapped out of it and immediately tried to get off of each other. Alastair froze when he heard the Nadder begin to make its way towards them. Hiccup watched the Nadder as it stared at them curiously while it made its way towards them. She was about to comment on it until she felt Alastair slam his foot against her stomach to try and dislodge his axe from her shield. Hiccup tried to get out from under him but his actions got frantic when the Nadder got near them. Without thinking, he placed his hand on her chest, causing Hiccup and everybody watching to gasp out loud.

"Alastair, stop it! Stop it!" cried out Hiccup when Alastair began to apply pressure, causing harm to her frail body. He managed to get the shield off Hiccup's arm and swung at the Nadder's head. The shield managed to save the Nadder from having its head chopped off and it ran away in pain. It was all quiet except for Hiccup's quiet gasps, until Alastair turned around began to scream, "DO YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE? WHAT WERE YOU DOING STANDING AROUND? OUR PARENT'S WAR IS ABOUT TO BECOME OUR WAR! FIGURE OUT WHICH SIDE YOU'RE ON!"

Hiccup could feel her tears gather and she quickly got up and limped out of the ring.

"Alastair, that was very arrogant of you lad." Said Gobber quietly as he watched Hiccup limp away.

"WHAT? Are you kidding me? She should have been paying atten—"

"Hiccup managed to defeat the maze and was already excused from participating from the match. If I recall, you were the one that was messing up the match. Who told you to jump over the maze? Trying to cheat your way out? You're lucky boy that her shield managed to protect her from your mistake! And what were you thinking feeling her up?" snarled Gobber. Alastair stared at the ground, angry and ashamed at the events that unfolded.

"The lot of you couldn't work together to save your own skin! Tuffnut! Ruffnut! In battle, you will do wise to forget your rivalry with each other. Fishlegs! I admire your knowledge of dragons, lad, I do. But when in battle, quoting from the book is not going to save your skin from getting roasted alive. Snotlout! I don't know how many times I have to tell ya that showing off is not the way to go! There is never time to show off in battle! The lot of you, clean up this mess and tonight, when we meet at the watchtower Alastair, you will apologize," scolded Gobber. He rubbed his temples again and stomped out of the arena, leaving behind some teens who felt embarrassed after having their follies pointed out.

Hiccup quietly cried as she limped to Gothi's hut located above the Meade Hall. She entered the Meade Hall and went through the backdoor to go up the path along the mountainside. The trek up the mountain exhausted her, but she managed to reach her hut. Hiccup rapped lightly against Gothi's door and waited patiently. She slowed her breathing and tried to fight the feelings of humiliation. She couldn't believe Alastair would do such a thing. Sure, he was scared from the coming Nadder, but he could have at least spared some decency towards her. Hiccup sighed and tried not to think about the jeers and taunts she was sure the others would throw at her.

The door opened and the village shaman, Gothi opened the door. She looked at Hiccup and etched on the dirt "May I help you?"

Hiccup sighed and explained the pain she has been receiving on her left leg. Gothi listened intently and motioned for Hiccup to walk inside. Her hut was filled with herbs and jars full of medicine. Hiccup sat down to the seat Gothi pointed at and allowed the elder to lift her left leg up and pull her legging up to get a better view of the leg. Hiccup was surprised to see a large red bruise form on her leg.

"That was never there this morning." She murmured.

Gothi seemed surprised at the news, and walked over to her shelves where she began to crush some Arnica herbs and placed it in a pot to steam the herbs. Gothi began to ask Hiccup questions as they waited for the herbs to cook and Hiccup tried to answer the best she could. She began to experience the pain after the Gronkle training (and after getting scolded by Gothi for not seeing her sooner) began to explain how her leg began to cramp up during today's training.

Gothi managed to get enough information over Hiccup's injury and took the herbs out of the hearth. She diluted the oil out of the Arnica and rubbed it up and down the injured leg. Hiccup winced when she felt pressure applied to her injury, but managed to grit her teeth. Gothi eventually poured the rest of the oil in a jar for her to take home. Gothi etched on the ground, "Apply once every night." Hiccup smiled and hugged the elder. "Thank you," she said.

As Hiccup left the hut, she moved her left leg around and found that the pain was slightly relieved. Hiccup thought of the Night Fury and wondered if it was hungry. She walked better without a limp and she walked down to the pier. As she reached the docks, Hiccup paid Mulch and Bucket for two Icelandic cods. The two giant fishes were slippery as Hiccup walked up to her house and set one of the fishes down by the hearth. Hopefully when she gets home, the fish would be slightly cooked when she gets back. Hiccup grabbed one of the shields hung up over the hearth and ventured into the forest, intent to confront the Night Fury. Hiccup walked along the trail that would lead to the direction of the cove and got off the path. She could feel her heart racing as she walked up to the familiar canyon wall and walked through the small entrance. She had to move sideways to make room for the shield to pass through, but eventually she reached the entrance to the cove.

Hiccup raised her shield in defense and threw the fish. Nothing came out. She peeked around her shield and moved to grab the fish. Just as she moved forward, her shield got stuck in between the canyon walls.

"Oh great." She muttered. She ducked under the wedged shield and tried to budge it, but it wouldn't move. Hiccup sighed and picked the fish back up. She walked slowly into cove but still no Night Fury. Just as confusion was about to enter her head, she heard a huff of breath behind her. She turned slowly to see the Night Fury crouched over the jutted boulder with its wings unfurled. He looked like a giant bat that was about to attack, but it didn't. The Fury walked around the boulder until it was in front of her. Hiccup kept herself calm as she waited until the Fury was in front and held the fish out in offering.

The Fury narrowed its eyes in suspicion but saw nothing lethal on her. It inched with its mouth open but then its pupils slit and it bared its teeth. Hiccup jumped back in alarm and brought her arms in. She felt a bump under her vest and slowly opened it to reveal her dagger. The Fury growled as Hiccup moved her hand to remove it. She stood still and slowly removed the dagger and dropped it to the floor. The Fury stared at the weapon and motioned its head for Hiccup to throw it far from her personnel. Hiccup picked the dagger with her foot and flicked it into the river. The Fury gave her an appraised look before sitting down on its haunches and looked at her and the fish.

Hiccup slowly moved forward with the fish in hand while the Fury scooted forward. As Hiccup presented the fish, the Fury opened its mouth to reveal its gums.

"Toothless," wondered Hiccup out loud, "I could have sworn you had—"

The Fury snapped its teeth out of its gums and snatched the fish away from her hand. Hiccup brought her hands back to her body and weakly said, "—teeth."

At her weak reply, the Fury licked its chaps and brought its attention back to Hiccup and walked up to her, growling or purring Hiccup could not tell. Hiccup backed up to a rock and tripped. She continued to move backwards until she was back up against a rock and tried to explain to the Night Fury, "Uh, no, no. I don't have anymore." She wished she brought the second fish, but she wanted to avoid having to carry so much when she had the shield. One fish was slippery enough.

The dragon got close enough where Hiccup could see each individual scale on its body. She was surprised when it closed its eyes and began to gag up half of the fish into her lap. As soon as it finished the deed, the Fury stood up and sat down on its tail, resembling someone who is crouched or is sitting on a chair. Hiccup looked at the Fury in surprise, forgetting about the regurgitated fish on her lap.

They both stared at each other in awkward silence until the Fury pointedly looked at the fish and back at her. Hiccup's eyes widen in surprise and comprehension and looked at the slimy regurgitated fish. She sighed at what she was about to do and lifted the fish to her mouth. She took a bite and made positive noises while offering the fish back to the Fury, mouth full of raw fish. The Fury continued to look at her and made a gulping noise. Hiccup lowered her arms in dismay at what the Fury wanted her to do but quickly made the decision to do so. She swallowed, but it came back up almost immediately as she tried to swallow it. She, again, forced the fish down and shivered in disgust as she felt it settle in her stomach.

She gave the Night fury a toothy grin in accomplishment.

~Interlude~

_What was the girl doing with her mouth_, wondered The Night Fury. She was baring her teeth at him but in a non-threatening way. He saw the corners of her lips turned upward and wondered what the purpose was. He decided to mimic the human girl's gesture. He had trouble lifting up his lips but eventually to his pleasure, he managed to copy the girl's gesture.

He watched amazement enter her eyes and she reached her hand out. Just as her hand reached his snout, he snarled at her to not push her luck and flew to the other side of the river. He blew fire into the ground to make it more comfortable for him and laid down on top of it. He rested his head on the ground before hearing a bird twitter up above him. He lifted his head to see the bird fly away and felt the warm feeling of comfortableness enter him. He knew that only flying could ever bring him the warm feeling of bliss, but for now, he dreamed he was the bird.

He looked back on the ground ahead of him and saw the human girl sitting across from him. He almost snorted in amusement but opted to give her a no-nonsense look. She did not give up. He moved his tail so he can cover his face from her view. The nerve of this human to disturb his daydreaming. Just as he felt the weariness enter him and he was about to fall asleep, he felt her shift closer to him. He lifted his tail to see her get up quickly and walk away awkwardly. He'll never sleep with this human being so intrusive.

He moved towards a lower tree and hung his tail over the branches so he can sleep hanging. It might not be the best position, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with the human.

He woke hours later and took a deep breath in. He could still smell her here. He opened his eyes to see her sitting down with her back turned to him, moving her arm around doing something to the ground. He quietly got off the tree and quietly made his way towards the girl. He looked over her shoulder and purred in delight when he saw that she was drawing his likeness on the ground. He saw her shoulders tense up, but she continued to draw. Was she afraid of him? He wanted to help her relax, and at that thought, a brilliant idea popped in his head.

He stood on his hind legs and walked to the nearest low hanging branch. He ripped it from the tree and walked back to the human. He decided to return the favor to her. As he drew on the ground, he continued to look back at her for reference and continued to go around trying to draw her. As soon as he finished, he looked at his work and nodded in satisfaction. He watched her look at the drawing and at him in amazement. Well his work _is_ fantastic if he did say so himself.

He watched her get up and walk around, but she stepped on the art! He growled at her to get off. He did not work hard to have her mess it up. She lifted her leg and he saw a calculating look appear on her face. She put her foot down again and he growled. Was this human slow? Did she not understand that this is not something to step upon on? She lifted her leg and placed her foot on the other side of the line. He purred in praise that she finally understood not to destroy his work. As she danced around the lines, he watched in fascination how she was able to be nimble. From what he witnessed from the other humans, this one was nimble and graceful and not bumbling like the others. Any other human from her settlement might have barged through, but she was actually dancing along. This human was strange indeed, but a good strange.

~Interlude~

As Hiccup danced around the lines, she never noticed that with each step she was getting closer to the Night Fury. Hiccup couldn't believe she was actually enjoying herself. At first she had thought the Night Fury did not like her and was avoiding her like everyone else on Berk. But then it showed up behind her as she was drawing a picture of him and he began drawing by himself. As she took a few steps, she heard a quiet 'huff' behind her.

Hiccup turned around and saw the Night Fury right behind her. She extended her hand again, but stopped when he gave a quiet growl. Hiccup didn't know what to do until she decided to give him absolute trust. She lowered her head and closed her eyes and extended her hand. The Night Fury could either bite her hand off or trust her.

A shiver of wonder rolled down her spine when she felt the cool scales of the Night Fury pressed against her palm. She looked up in wonder and looked into the eyes of the Night Fury staring at her. She smiled and saw his eyes brighten up.

It was dark by the time Hiccup got back to Berk. She looked at the village in its quietness and enjoyed the rare tranquility. She walked into the village and headed towards the forge. As she walked in, to her surprise, Gustav was talking with Gobber. Hiccup coughed to catch their attention and even more surprising was Gustav's eyes lighting up when he saw her.

"Hiccup!" he cried out and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was shocked still as she allowed Gustav to hug her. Gobber looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Uh, Gustav? Why-" she cut herself off as she had no idea how to word out the question without insulting him.

"Hiccup! That axe you made is awesome! It's just my size and I can carry it around without feeling weighed down!" he said enthusiastically.

Axe? Oh, that's right! Hiccup recalled leaving him her modified axe for him. She gently pried Gustav's arms from her waist and said, "It's no problem Gustav. I'm happy to help."

"Just think! I could be a great dragon slayer like everybody in the village!" said Gustav enthusiastically. Hiccup winced slightly at the dragon slaying part as she immediately thought of the Night Fury. She smiled a little tightly when she said, "Well, you still have some training to do."

"I know! I know! But when that day comes, I'll be a great fighter like Alastair!" said Gustav, missing Hiccup's grimace, before he ran out of the forge yelling, "Bye Hiccup! Thanks for everything!"

Hiccup was still shocked at the events that just occurred and turned to Gobber with a questioning look.

"Ay, the lad has been searching for you everywhere. Wanted to thank for the nice axe you gave him." Explained Gobber. Hiccup nodded and said, "It's the least I could do. He seemed really ambitious so who am I to stop him." Gobber slightly grimaced at her words. Hiccup herself is very ambitious but is constantly blocked at every corner. "Listen lass, I want to know if you are ok? After today, I wouldn't blame you if you have decided to stop coming to training." Said Gobber, hoping Hiccup would consider it. Hiccup was like a daughter to Gobber and today's training had put him on edge.

Hiccup considered the way out but said, "No, Gobber. If I leave now, then they're just going to think I'm a coward just because of today's events. I need to face this." Gobber hated to agree with her logic but nodded. She was right.

"Alright lass, let's go. We still have the dinner at the Watchtower." Said Gobber as he swung a bag full of meat over his shoulder. Hiccup nodded and followed him up to one of the Watchtowers that guards Berk from sea invaders. Gobber placed wood into the hearth and began to place chicken pieces on sticks to allow them to roast it over the fire. Hiccup remembered her fish back in the house and quickly told Gobber that she was going to get it.

As she walked back to her house, she heard her peers coming up from around the corner, Hiccup quickly hid from them, not wanting to confront them. As they passed by, she could hear their conversation and they sounded angry.

"Can't believe Gobber made us clean the whole arena." Said Snotlout as he led the group.

"Yeah all because Hiccup couldn't do anything right." Said Tuffnut as he shoved his sister to the side so he could be ahead of her.

"Well, I don't think-" began Fishlegs, but got cut off wen Ruffnut said, "She didn't even have to clean the arena."

"Yeah, I feel sorry for you Alastair. Having to apologize to the runt." Said Snotlout. Alastair kept silent and continued walking. When Hiccup deemed it safe to get out of hiding, she ran to her house and grabbed her fish before retreating back to the Watchtower, despite overhearing the conversation, she knew that if she didn't show up now, then they would deem her to be even weaker.

She made it to the Tower by the time everybody sat down and began roasting their chicken. They all glared at her with the exception of Fishlegs who looked uncomfortable with the situation. Hiccup sat down close to the exit in the event that she would need to escape. Alastair opened his mouth like he was about to eat something sour and Hiccup shook his head at him, much to his surprise. Gobber saw Hiccup shake her head and guessed that she knew what he was about to say.

"Alright you lot. I hope that after today's training, you lot will understand the importance of teamwork. A lone Viking cannot last long in the wilderness full of wild dragons." Said Gobber. Hiccup remained silent throughout his speech as she could still feel the glares pointed at her direction. Hiccup roasted her fish quietly as she listened to Gobber, once again for the fiftieth time in her life, retell the story of his last hand and leg.

"I'm so angry right now!" said Snotlout as he glared at the chicken piece, "I'll avenge you're beautiful hand and your beautiful leg. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I see… with my _face_." He emphasized it by pointing at his face, which at that point the Twins teased him that he would be ugly enough for a dragon to fly away.

"No, no," said Gobber as he stripped the wings off his chicken, "It's the wings and tails you really want. A dragon can't fight if it can't fly away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

As everybody began to agree with Gobber, probably hoping to get back into his grace, Hiccup couldn't help but repeat Gobber's words in her head. The Night Fury can't fly and it was her fault. She needed to help it get back in the sky. She looked around to see everybody too engrossed with Gobber's story to pay attention to her so she discreetly placed her fish down and walked away.

She never noticed Alastair stare after her as she made her way to the forge.

It took all night, but Hiccup had done it. She made a replica of the Night Fury's tail wing and planned to place it on him first thing daylight broke out. As Hiccup walked to the docks, carrying her project under her arm, she made sure that nobody was around as she made her way to the fish storage. She grabbed a basket and immediately ran towards the forest from around the beach. She knew that it would look suspicious if she walked around the village with a basket full of fish.

Hiccup walked up the beach path that led to the forest and had to use her memory of this part of the forest to make it up to Raven's Point. She had to take breaks in between since she couldn't handle carrying the basket and prosthetic for very long. As soon as she made her fifth rest stop, Hiccup was relieved to see the canyon wall. She walked up to it and squeezed the basket in first before squeezing in the prosthetic.

She looked around the cove to try and locate the Fury and called out, "Hello? Uh, it's me again. I brought you breakfast! Hello?" _I can't believe I'm trying to talk to a dragon_, she thought. As she turned around she was surprised again by the sudden presence of the Night Fury.

"You have to stop doing that!" she said as she moved towards the basket, "Uh, I guess I should tell you my name. My name is Hiccup."

The Night Fury tilted its head and warbled a sound that sounded close to Hiccup. She almost cried out in excitement that the Fury understood her.

"Uh, I guess I should give a name then?" she asked the Fury, "It'd be better if I knew if you were a boy or a girl."

The Night Fury tilted its curiously. Hiccup thought and said, "Are you female?" At that, the Fury indignantly snorted. Hiccup laughed at his reaction.

"Ok, so you're a boy."

Hiccup looked at him and thought of his retractable teeth, no doubt designed to allow him to shoot out his devastating bolts without harming his teeth. "Toothless." She said.

The Night Fury perked its ears at the name and Hiccup said, "Toothless it is, then. Ok, I brought you breakfast."

She pushed the basket on its side where fish spilled out on the floor. Toothless seemed much more invigorated at the smell of it and lumbered up to inspect the catch.

"We have some salmon, some Icelandic Cod, and a whole smoked eel." She said. Toothless though reacted very strongly to the smell of the eel and roared and backed away. Hiccup saw it and almost laughed how the dragon reacted very strongly to it. She grabbed the eel and tossed it to the side, far enough so Toothless wouldn't be able find it's smell appalling.

As Toothless dug in, Hiccup muttered, "Don't mind me, I'll just be back here." Toothless was too enamored with his meal to pay attention to her so she quickly ducked behind him and grabbed the prosthetic. She slowly strapped it onto his tail and spread it out, but Toothless kept swinging his tail back and forth for it to be properly spread. She climbed on top of his tail to stop it from swishing around and once she held it steady, she opened the prosthetic wing to see if she managed to get the measurements right.

She spent all night building the tail based on memory. She needed to determine the size and weight the tailfin had to be and she spent many hours smelting the iron framework that helped keep the prosthetic lined up again Toothless's tail. "Eh, not bad," she said to herself, "but it will work, I hope."

She never noticed Toothless slowly spread his wings wide and his body coiled for a leap.

~Interlude~

He could not believe it. This human girl actually repaired his tail wing. He flapped his operating tail wing and felt a familiar weight on the missing side of his tail. This girl, _Hiccup_, managed to repair it for him. There was however only one way to find out.

~Interlude~

Hiccup had no warning other than her instinct telling her to hold on as Toothless shot up from the ground and into the sky. She screamed as she saw the ground grow farther away from her but immediately stopped and frowned as she saw the prosthetic flap uselessly against the wind. She felt Toothless fall out of the sky and reached out and spread the wing open manually.

"OH THIS IS AMAZING!" she screamed as she managed to hold the tail open and Toothless managed to fly smoothly, "IT'S WORKING!" She turned the tail to one side and managed to direct Toothless back into the cove.

~Interlude~

Toothless was shocked to find himself being steered towards the cove. He turned to see Hiccup grip onto his tail and was actually holding the wing open. How strange that this girl managed to fix his tail and yet not. He almost was too distracted to see the upcoming wall that he only managed to make a sharp turn, but in doing so flung Hiccup off his tail. Without Hiccup controlling his prosthetic, Toothless felt himself fall out of the sky, only to be cushioned by the running river.

He popped his head over the water level to see Hiccup struggling to get out of the deep part of the river, as the current was being pushed into the small cave on the cave wall. Wherever the river went, he didn't want his new friend to find out. He swam to her and helped her fight the current and back into land. He watched her take a few deep breaths before looking at him and bared her teeth again with upturned lips. He copied the same friendly gesture back as well.

~Interlude~

Hiccup slowly got up from the ground and wobbled around a bit.

"Ok, Toothless. Obviously, you can't work the prosthetic I made. I think I might have to make adjustments to the fin." Said Hiccup. Toothless looked at her and she smiled back and said, "Well, you know that I have to ride you to make it work. Don't worry though, I'll find a way to get you your flight back without me."

At this, Hiccup got up and walked away from the cove, promising to visit Toothless tomorrow. Before walking out of the cove though, she saw the smoked eel still laying a few feet away. She picked it up and walked away, tucking the eel away underneath her fur vest.

When Hiccup walked back to the village, she walked back home and threw the eel into the fire and went to grab her shield before walking towards the arena. She still couldn't believe what had happened. _First Viking to fly, take that Alastair_ She thought. As she walked into the arena, she saw Fishlegs and Alastair there already. She slunk away from them and stood next to Gobber, who was counting the number of buckets. As she walked up to him, Gobber turned and gave her a smile.

"Alright, Hiccup?" asked Gobber as he passed her a water bucket.

"Pretty good, I'm sorry if I left a mess on the forge." Said Hiccup as she put her shield down and took the bucket.

"No worries, lass. Forge is still clean and orderly." Said Gobber as he waved off her apology. When the rest of the teens showed up, Hiccup was careful not to be near them and moved and moved a little off to the side. Gobber moved the teens around and paired Snotlout with Tuffnut, Alastair with Ruffnut, and Hiccup with Fishlegs. After everybody had their buckets ready, Gobber lifted the lever and gas immediately filled the arena, separating the groups from each other as the gas fogged their vision.

"Today is about teamwork," said Gobber as he stepped away from the teens, "A wet dragon head can't breathe fire. The Hideous Zippleback is _extra_ tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

"Razor-sharp serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims—" began Fishlegs, but his explanation was scaring Hiccup who whispered back, "Would you please stop that?"

At first, she thought that he was going to ignore her but was surprised when he actually did stop or did not taunt her. She listened very carefully for the two-headed dragon when she heard her cousin say in the fog, "If that dragon shows either of its faces… THERE!"

She heard a splash and an indignant, "HEY! It's us, idiots!" She recognized Ruffnut's voice and heard Tuffnut respond, "Your butt is getting bigger, we thought you were a dragon."

Hiccup could hear a scuffle but then heard Tuffnut scream in terror. She jumped when she heard Tuffnut suddenly yell, "OH I'M HURT! I AM VERY MUCH HURT!"

She heard a swish in the air and could hear Alastair and Ruffnut curse as she heard water hit the ground.

"Chances of surviving are dwindling into single digits now." Said Fishlegs fearfully. Suddenly, a dragon moved out of the fog and Fishlegs immediately began to panic and backed away. The dragon head followed him and Hiccup could now see that it was curious. When Fishlegs threw water on it though, she could see its eyes slit into anger. It opened its mouth and breathed out the gas. Fishlegs yelped and ran away from the gas. The dragon head turned to Hiccup when another head popped out of her peripheral vision and opened its mouth and began to emit sparks from its mouth.

"NOW HICCUP!" she heard Gobber yell at her. She turned to the dragon and prepared to throw the water but immediately reminded herself that she was not the most athletic. She stood still as the dragon heads stared at her curiously. Instead of throwing the water, Hiccup did the most stupid thing a Viking could do. She raised the bucket not to throw water on the dragon but she _offered_ the water to it. She lowered her eyes to the ground like how she did with Toothless and gave trust to the dragon. She almost decided to ditch her plan when she felt the bucket get pushed against her hands. She looked up to see the spark-emitting dragon drinking from the water bucket.

She heard a clang hit the ground behind her and turned to see everybody stare at in shock. She looked back at the Zippleback to see that one head yawned while the other that drunk the water was slowly nodding off. The dragon willingly walked back to its cage and went to sleep. Hiccup quickly moved to close the gate and lowered the lever. She turned to see the group still staring at her in shock and said, "Ok? So we're good? Cause I have some… things I need… to… do… so, yeah ok see you tomorrow."

She ran out of the arena, wanting to get started on her ideas for Toothless's saddle and left behind some dumbstruck Vikings in her wake.

Hiccup retreated back into the forge and immediately began to work on the saddle. After completing the task, which took about most of the afternoon. When Gobber came by and asked her about her project, Hiccup just dismissed his questions as claiming to have something to trade Trader Johan the next time he arrives on Berk. When Gobber asked Hiccup about the events that happened in the ring, Hiccup was surprised when she answered honestly, "If I couldn't wet the dragon's head, then I should just offer it water."

Gobber's eyebrows seemed to disappear behind his helmet when she confessed, and he walked away muttering how only _she_ would have thought of that.

By the time nightfall came, Hiccup had finished her saddle and couldn't wait until tomorrow morning.

~Interlude~

Alastair couldn't believe that Hiccup—_Hiccup_—managed to beat them. His mind still couldn't wrap around the idea that all she did was offer the Zippleback water and _it drank from her hand_. Alastair could hear the others whispering to each other at the events that unfolded. Snotlout was talking about confronting Hiccup again, but the idea was shot down when they saw Gobber in the forge with her.

As the teens walked by the forge, Alastair took a peek in the window and saw Hiccup working on what looked like a saddle. A saddle for what, though? There were no horses on Berk and unless Hiccup was crazy enough to try and ride a boar, then what was the purpose of the saddle? Hiccup was strange indeed, but he wasn't going to allow her to upstage him again. He walked into the woods, intent on training harder for the next time they met for dragon training.

~Interlude~

Hiccup woke up the next morning with new vigor. She ran down the stairs and grabbed the saddle and rope before walking to the forge to grab some tools. She placed the tools and rope in a satchel before picking up her saddle and walked towards the docks. She again grabbed another basket full of fish and walked into the woods. It was early morning so most of the villagers were still asleep. When Hiccup walked into the forest, she contemplated how the best way to convince the dragon to have the saddle on.

When she reached the cove, she put the saddle and the basket down before she called out, "Toothless?"

She looked around and not a dragon in sight. Where was he? Did he leave? Before Hiccup's mind could even panic, a dark shadow loomed over her and she turned just in time to see Toothless tackle her. She felt him close his wings around her to protect her and he began to roll around, often nuzzling her. She giggled while he nuzzled her and said, "Come on, let me up!"

Toothless nuzzled her one more time before getting off. Hiccup giggled again at how adorable he looks when he sits on his haunches and just gives her his large eyes. She walked over to the basket and picked up her saddle.  
"Ok Toothless, this might help us." She said as she lifted the saddle for him to view. Whatever response she expected was not the one he was displaying. He immediately coiled up and bounded away from her. She gave chase and almost laughed at how ridiculous it looked with her chasing a Night Fury with a saddle in hand and said Night Fury sticking his tongue out at her.

"Come on Toothless! The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get to flying!" she yelled. That got his attention when he stopped running from her and waited patiently as she placed the saddle on him. It was a perfect fit, to her surprise. She spent the entire night hoping that she got his estimation correct and is pleasantly surprised. Hiccup moved towards the tail fin and connected the rope she brought with her. She tested it out while Toothless ate from the basket and she managed to open the fin by tugging on the rope.

"Ok buddy, let's try this out." Said Hiccup. Toothless immediately bounced up and waited until Hiccup threw her leg over his neck and said, "Ok, buddy. Let's do this!"

Toothless flew straight up into the air while Hiccup held on to the rope to help keep the tail fin open. Hiccup could feel the wind blow her hair back and almost enjoyed the experience until she felt Toothless struggle to stay in the air. Hiccup tugged on the boat, but when Toothless still continued to struggle, she looked back over her shoulder to see the rope only managed to keep the fin open but not for an extended time. She gave the rope a tug in hopes of evening out the tailfin, but only managed to snap the rope and Toothless fell to the side while she landed in the river.

Hiccup quickly swam up and, lucky for her, the river wasn't running as strong as it was the last time she fell in the river and she managed to wade to shore. Toothless cooed quietly and Hiccup smiled at his attempt to cheer her up.

"It's ok, Toothless. We'll figure it out." Said Hiccup. They spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around while Hiccup tried to figure out how to fix the fin. She looked at the saddle and saw the disadvantage she had if Toothless made any turns like he did the first time they flew together and just five minutes earlier. As she looked at the saddle, an idea came to her head. She took the saddle off and said, "I'm going to add some things in the saddle to help us get up in the air. I'll see you tomorrow!"

When she arrived back in the village, she was happy to see the forge empty and went to her backroom where she immediately began to work on the new adjustments. She added rings on the saddle and when she was sure that she was not going to fall off after testing its capability, she ran back to her house where she ate her dinner. Normally, she was supposed to be eating in the Meade Hall with the rest of the trainees, but she felt that tonight was a night where she needs to be alone.

As she cooked her chicken piece over the hearth, Hiccup wondered about her secret. While Hiccup knew how to keep a secret, she worried over how long she would be able to have it. If the villagers knew she was harboring the enemy and treating the enemy with kindness instead of 'killing on sight' they might banish her, or worse execute her. Hiccup could feel her hands tremble at the last thought and took deep calming breaths to calm down. She would just have to keep Toothless a secret, even at her last breath. Hiccup thought about Toothless and wondered if he ever had troubles aside from his problem to fly. She went to bed content and eager to try out the new improvements of the saddle.

The next morning, Hiccup made sure to wake up before the sun even rose out from the horizon. Just like yesterday, she made sure to grab a basket of fish and made her way towards the cove.

"Hey Toothless!" she yelled out. She heard a groan further ahead from her and saw Toothless stretching under the shade of the tree. She grinned and walker her way over to the dragon and spilled the contents of the basket.

"Here you go sweets, breakfast time." She said with a smile. As Toothless dove into his meal, Hiccup placed the saddle on him again and attached the rope to the tailfin. When Toothless finished his meal with a final lick across his lips, Hiccup said, "Ok, sweets. Lets try this again."

She climbed up the saddle and like the last time, Toothless shot up in the air. They stayed in the air for a while until the rope began to fail at keeping the tailfin open. They began to crash land and Hiccup (at the last minute) managed to pull the rope and the landed in a field of grass. Hiccup was satisfied that she remained on the saddle, and unclipped herself. She turned around, about to ask Toothless if he wanted to try again, when the sight before her befuddled her.

Toothless, the fearsome Night Fury and was described by her people as the unholy demon of lightning and death itself, was rolling around in the grass in ecstasy. As he rubbed the grass against his snout, Hiccup gave a small giggle. This dragon was full surprises. First the eel disgusted him and now the smell of sweet grass has managed to make the fearsome dragon submit. Hiccup raised her hands and wrapped them around his snout and slightly covered his nose. Toothless's eyes reverted back to normal as his pupils were rounded in ecstasy and he followed her out of the grass.

When the coast was clear, Hiccup removed her hands from his snout and gave him a small rub behind the ear in affection. He leaned in closer to her hands and gave a small whine of approval. Hiccup could feel a smirk form across her face and scratched across his neck. He gave a low moan and shook his back leg. Hiccup used both hands and scratched all across his scaly neck. As he continued to lean into her hands, Hiccup reached under Toothless's jaw and applied a small bit of pressure and almost instantly Toothless fell asleep.

"Toothless?" asked Hiccup, wondering if he was faking it. The great beast just gave her a low growl before she heard a light snore coming from him. Hiccup laughed and laid down next to her friend, amused at yet another discovery.

By the time Hiccup arrived back to Berk, she realized that she was, once again, late for Dragon Training. Hiccup rushed to the arena just as Gobber was instructing the class.

"Nice of you to join the party." Said Gobber as soon as he spotted Hiccup. Hiccup shrugged and moved a bit off to the side, not wanting to be near the other teens. She has no idea whether or not they were angry with her still or if they were calm.

"Now, today we face the Gronkle again, as I feel that many of you still haven't grasped the basics of training—" said Gobber, but Hiccup tuned him out as she thought about the best way to get the tailfin to work properly. Perhaps a pulley system would help her control the tailfin, but she would need to do some major upgrading on not only the tail, but on the saddle as well. As she was thinking this, she responded almost on auto mode as Gobber handed everybody shields and he moved to pull the lever.

Hiccup reacted too late as the Gronkle burst from its cage. It made a beeline for the closest target it could reach, which was Hiccup herself. Hiccup only had time to drop her shield and raise her hand up, to show them empty-handed. The Gronkle immediately stopped, confused. Hiccup could hear the others whispering and reached her hand out.

"HICCUP!" yelled Gobber, terrified for her when he saw her drop the shield, but to his amazement the Gronkle leaned into her touch. He looked at Hiccup to see her face in deep thought.

Hiccup wondered exactly what helped make the Gronkle fly. It was the heaviest of the common dragons, but it still managed to fly at high altitudes. "What helps you fly?" she whispered to herself. She never expected the dragon to respond, but it did. The Gronkle beat its wings and hovered. Hiccup looked at the wings and was immediately reminded of a bee. Its wings were beating quickly which helped it gain its hovering abilities.

"You should probably go back in your cage, before these idiots snap out of it," whispered Hiccup, finally aware that she had an audience, "thank you." The Gronkle flew up and went back to its cage, where Hiccup once again pulled the lever to seal it in. She turned around to find many of them gaping at her in disbelief. Hiccup would have laughed if she weren't so deep in her thoughts. As she walked out of the arena, she never noticed any of the teens looking at her curiously at her in Fishleg's case or in disbelief and rage like the other four.

Hiccup walked to the forge where she immediately began to work on the pulley system she thought up of and moved towards the back the forge where she can work in peace. Designing the system was complicated in that she needed to make sure Toothless was comfortable with having the metal riggings on him. Hiccup looked up to see her empty wall of where her old blueprints used to be. She would often dream that one day, people would come to appreciate her ideas and would welcome her into their society as somebody _useful_ and not _useless_. Hiccup could feel the buried feelings of resentment rise up but immediately stamped it down. There really was no point in harboring ill will towards a society she has already betrayed. Hiccup continued to work all through the day, and managed to forge a portable system that would allow her to carry it back to the cove.

When the sun was setting and everybody was at the Meade Hall, Hiccup showed up last and waited in line for her turn to retrieve a chicken piece and a mug of mead. She felt a familiar and intimidating presence behind her and fought not to turn around and look. When she received her food, Hiccup quickly walked to her usual table at the dark corner of the hall and sat down. She still felt Alastair's glare on her back as she sat down, but she took great comfort in knowing that he would never sit anywhere near her table. She ate in silence and was just about to go grab seconds when Gustav sat across from her. Hiccup looked at him in surprise and looked around. There were other empty tables around the hall and again, Gustav sat with her. Did he need another axe?

"Hey Hiccup!" said Gustav cheerfully as he propped his axe on the table, a gesture meant to show off his new weapon to anybody looking at him.

"Hello?" said Hiccup, very unsure of what Gustav's motivation were. Gustav smiled at her and said, "Hey Hiccup, how did you beat the dragon today?"

Hiccup was surprised and asked, "Were you watching us at the arena?"

"YEAH! It was so cool! You even beat Alastair to the dragon and managed to make it go back in its cage _without even lifting a sword!_" said Gustav excitedly, not realizing that he spoke loud enough for Alastair to hear. Hiccup could see Alastair's neck stiffen at Gustav's proclamation and quickly said, "I just asked for it to go back to its cage and it did." Gustav seemed surprised at her answer and judging from Alastair's position, he was also surprised. Hiccup quickly got up and left the hall, intent on fixing the saddle.

The next morning was a bright and sunny day, something that was rare in Berk. Hiccup had managed to build pedals and the pulley system to coincide with the pedals and tailfin. After testing the rigs, Hiccup felt confident that this would work. She packed it all in her sack and moved towards the front of the forge where she was shocked at the sight of Alastair and Snotlout waiting for her.

"May I help you?" she asked, nervous after recalling the previous incident after their first lesson. Hiccup nervously took a step back when they took a step towards her.

"We want to know how you, _a hiccup_, could be beating us in the arena." Said Snotlout as he took more advanced steps towards her. Hiccup backed up and dropped her sack behind the table before extending her hand over to the hearth where a poker was sitting and placed her hand over it. Alastair, seeing her movements, slowly gripped his axe and waited unless she made the first move.

Hiccup could see Alastair reach for his axe and gripped the poker. She lifted and allowed the tip to touch the ground, waiting until one of them made the first move. Snotlout, oblivious to everything except wanting answers, continued to move forward. He moved on and asked, "So Runt, how did you manage it? Are you cheating?"

"I asked the dragon to go back to its cage and it did." Explained Hiccup. While knowing many things about the dragons now, thanks to Toothless, she was not willing to share it to anybody who intends to use them for harm.

"Yeah, likely story," snorted Snotlout, "As if a dragon would listen to anybody." He shoved Hiccup back, and Alastair was sure that she was going to strike but to his surprise, she kept her armed hand lowered, but was still gripping the poker tightly.

Hiccup allowed herself to be pushed around, not wanting to risk giving Alastair permission to use his axe, and said, "It's not my fault Snotlout that you seem to think everything could be solved by fighting. I never wanted to be in the arena, but since my father insisted I joined I did."

Snotlout and Alastair seemed surprised to hear her confession and forgot about their interrogation as they digested the news. It was silent for a while until Alastair made the first move and said, "Come on Snotlout."

Snotlout obeyed and they both left the forge. Hiccup continued to grip the poker until she looked out the window and made sure that they left. She dropped the poker to the side and reached for her sack. Hiccup walked outside and made a beeline towards her house, looking around to be sure that Alastair or Snotlout were nowhere to be seen. She got in the house and peeked out the backdoor to be sure that no was around and ran into the woods. She didn't stop running until she made it to cove.

"TOOTHLESS!" she cried out, dropping her sack and waited. And waited. Where was he? A dark shadow tackle her to the ground and Hiccup giggled as the Night Fury nuzzled her again.

"Ok! Ok! Let me up!" she cried out. Toothless jumped off of her and sat on his haunches, waiting for her to begin their routine.

~~Interlude~~

_Hiccup truly is something genuine_, thought Toothless as he watched his human add repairs to the saddle. All his life, he had been taught by the nest that the humans were stupid and barbaric. He never would have realized that his best friend would be a human female who showed _compassion_. He looked up at the sky and recalled the freedom the sky gave him and decided that when the saddle was fixed, he would be able to share his experience with his best friend.

~~Interlude~~

Hiccup walked Toothless outside the cove for the first time. She looked around to be sure that they were alone and led him up to a canyon. She stuck her hand out and felt the draft rising up from the canyon. She led Toothless to a boulder jutting out from the ground and tied the saddle to the rock and climbed up on top of the saddle.

"Ok sweets, open your wings and we'll practice the pedals." Said Hiccup. Toothless gave a croon and opened his wings. The draft from the canyon lifted them up from the ground, but the rope helped them stay stationary. Hiccup experimented with the pedal and scrawled instructions on a piece of paper. She pushed the pedal back on her heel and the tail fin moved to lower Toothless to the ground. Hiccup and Toothless gave each other smiles and Toothless leapt up again so they could try it out one more time, but a powerful blast from the draft snapped the rope and pushed both dragon and rider into the woods. Hiccup groaned and lifted herself from off the ground. She reached up to unclip herself from Toothless's saddle and groaned when she saw that the clip had bent in on itself, preventing Hiccup from detaching herself. Hiccup looked over at the sky to see the sun setting.

"Come on Toothless. Unless I can get this clip off you, I'm stuck with you for now." Said Hiccup as she walked Toothless in the direction of the village. Hiccup felt toothless nudge her at the back of her legs, causing her to jerk forward.

"Quit it." She said good-naturedly. Toothless gave a rumble that sounded like laughter and nudged her again. "Quit it!" They continued like that all the way to the village and by the time they reached it, night had fallen.

"Ok Toothless, stay quiet and stick by me. These people won't hesitate to attack." Whispered Hiccup. Toothless bumped her leg in affirmation and Hiccup quietly led him across the village. Hiccup looked around every corner of the buildings and took shortcuts across the alleyways. Toothless's dark hide helped disguise him in the background as they maneuvered across the village to the forge. Hiccup greeted a fellow Viking as he patrolled the village and as soon as he was a good few yards away, Hiccup tugged on the harness and led Toothless to the forge.

Hiccup peeked in the building to be sure that it was empty and guided Toothless in. As she walked in, she bumped her leg against the hammer stands. It fell with a loud *clang* and cringed when Toothless reacted at the sound, immediately reminded that dragons don't like close range loud noise. Hiccup grabbed the pliers off the table and worked immediately to unbend the clips. As she struggled to unbend the steel, she almost missed someone calling out her name.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup jumped and heard the voice coming from the other side of the closed shutters. She motioned at Toothless to lie down on the floor in front of her and she moved to put her work apron on to cover the clips and belt. She opened the shutters and was face to face with Alastair. She blinked in surprise and asked, "Yes?"

~~Interlude~~

Alastair heard the noise coming from the forge and proceeded to investigate. He heard grunts and noises of annoyance and immediately recognized Hiccup.

"Hiccup?" he called out. He heard a slight commotion before the shutters opened and he saw a flustered Hiccup blink in surprise.

"Yes?" she asked. He could tell she was nervous when the panic in her eyes was visible.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Alastair could see her peek around his shoulders as if looking for somebody. Alastair remembered the last confrontation he had with Hiccup and it did not go as planned. He really shoved his foot up his ass by thinking Snotlout would help confront Hiccup. All it did was make her more nervous and terrified.

"I'm just working on some projects." Said Hiccup, as she flattened down her apron. Alastair gave her a suspicious look and walked off, not interested in another one of her crazy inventions. As he walked away, he thought about all the things that have gone wrong since training began. Hiccup, _Hiccup the Useless_, had managed to surpass all of them because she decided to do things her way. Instead of fighting, Hiccup was _making peace _with dragons. So far, she had been able to 'conquer' the dragons, but when it came down to actually killing a dragon, he is sure that he will be the one to kill the Nightmare.

~~Interlude~~

Hiccup waited until Alastair was out of view and looked down at Toothless who seemed to have decided to take a nap. She rolled her eyes and again used the pliers. She managed to successfully unbend the clips back into the proper shape and shook Toothless awake. He gave a loud groan as he yawned that Hiccup immediately jumped on his snout and whispered, "SHHH!"

Hiccup looked outside and after evaluating that it was safe, she led Toothless back behind the forge and led him towards her house. After evading patrol and Alastair, Hiccup led Toothless into her home.

"Ok sweets, it's too late for me to take you back to the cove and walk back here, so we're going to spend the night here, ok?" said Hiccup as she led Toothless around her home. The curious dragon walked around, sniffing everything that was new. Hiccup smiled and walked up the stairs to grab her furs and pillow. When she walked back downstairs, Toothless was sniffing at the hearth. Hiccup laid the furs and the pillow on the ground and walked over to the hearth. She placed wood in and set them up so it won't spill out. As she looked around for the flint to light it, Toothless surprised her when he shot one of his plasma bolts into the hearth, instantly lighting the fire.

Hiccup smiled walked back to the hearth, lying down on her furs and pillow. She felt Toothless curl up around her and gave him a scratch under his wings. He gave a happy croon before settling down to sleep. Hiccup scooted closer to her dragon and snuggled up beside him. His wings wrapped around her and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

A loud knocking woke Hiccup up and she shot up, disoriented and confused. She looked around and spotted Toothless still having his wings around her and yawning at the loud knocking. Knocking. Hiccup got up quickly and waved her hands to catch Toothless's attention. Once she had it, she motioned for him to stay quiet and motioned for him to go up the stairs. She led him up to her room and ran back down the stairs to grab her furs and pillow. She ran up and threw the furs over Toothless and said, "Stay quiet Toothless." Hiccup ran back down the stairs and opened the door, only to come across the concerned face of Gobber.

"I'd say Good Mornin' Hiccup, but you slept through all of the trainin' today." Informed Gobber. Hiccup's eyes widened and said, "What? I promise you Gobber, I had no intention of skipping training."

Gobber smiled reassuringly and said, "It's alright Hiccup. I was worried about yeh and I wanted to see if you were all right. Today's lesson was with the Nadder, so don't worry about it."

"Thanks Gobber." Said Hiccup as she watched him leave. Just as she was about to close the door, Hiccup could see the teens at a distance. They seemed to be waiting for Gobber to leave her house at a few distance before they make their move. Hiccup closed the door casually and ran up the stairs to find Toothless peeking out of the furs. She would have to remind herself to sketch Toothless later. His green eyes were the only visible parts of his body that was peeking out of the furs and he looked adorable.

Hiccup quickly removed the furs off his body and said, "Come on buddy. We have to get you in the forest right now." Toothless, sensing the panic in her voice, followed her quickly downstairs. The door rattled and she heard Snotlout yell out, "HEY HICCUP! COME ON OUT! WE WANT TO TALK!" Hiccup panicked and peeked out the closed curtains. All of the teens were there and were carrying their weapons. A slight moment of hysteria went through her mind and she quickly moved to the backdoor and after mounting Toothless, they ran until they reached the cover of the trees, where Toothless jumped up and grabbed on to the branches. Hiccup carefully dismounted and looked over to her house, where she spotted the teens waiting around. She shook her head and motioned to Toothless that they should leave, and after mounting on the saddle, they did.

Hiccup could almost imagine the look on their faces, but could also imagine them waiting for her to show up at the front door. It would take them a while to figure out she was not home with their 'Viking' knowledge. For now, Hiccup was content to continue helping Toothless fly.


End file.
